Flax-machine.



No. 659,342. Patented Oct. 9, "|90 0.

n. s. EAsTwoun &; n. H. NORMAND.

FLAX MACHINE.

(Application filed Jan. 18, 1900..

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FLAX MACHINE.

(Application filed Jan. 18. 1900.)

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Nrrs STATES ATENT FFICE.

DAVID S. EASTWOOD AND NAROISSE H. NORMAND, OF NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE NATIONAL FLAX FIBRE OOMPANY,OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

FLAX-MACHINE.

SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters latent No. 659,342, dated October 9, 1900.

Application filed January 18, 1900 Serial No. 1.837. kNo model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, DAVID S. EASTWOOD and NARCISSE H. NORMAND, of N ewBedford, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Flax-Machines; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to the class of machines used to clean short-fiber flax from the shives and dust to prepare it for carding and spinning machines. It is fully explained and illustrated in this specification and the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 shows atop view of the machine with the covers of the cylinders removed to show their structure and arrangement. Fig. 3 is a vertical'section of the machine, taken lengthwise on line 3 3 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents one of the toothed bars. Fig. 5 represents one of the plain bars.

The object ofthe invention is to furnish a machine to prepare flax which, from having been threshed in a machine toseparate the seed or from other causes, is too short to be hackled or combed for carding and spinning .on common cotton or Woolen machinery.

The main object to be accomplished is to free the flax from the shives and dust and form it into lap-rolls ready for the carding- 7 machine.

The construction and operation are as follows: A A are two end frames which are connected together on each side by an upper and lower girth O C, the first of which holds the bearings of the mechanism. At the left end,

.where the flax first enters the machine, an

endless apron E is placed, which runs on rolls held in bearings on the top side girths C. Next come sets of fluted rollsB l3-,only two pair of which are shown in the drawings on account of limited space, but of which several pairs are used, each succeeding pair from the first'set having its flutes made finer than those of the preceding pair. These fluted rolls B also have their bearings made fast on the top girths 0. Next to the fluted rolls come a pair of smaller feed-rolls J, which feed and hold the flax fiber for the action of the beater-cylinder D. This cylinder D consists of a set of flanged spiders held on a shaft running in bearings on the top girths. The spiders are covered with a sheet of wire-netting B, (see Fig. 2,) and on the outside of the netting F a set of flat radial bars G G are placed lengthwise of thecylinder and secured to the end spiders. These bars are made alternately plain, G G, and the intermediate bars Gr have strips of metal with fine teeth a made on their outer edges and fastened to the outer edges of the bars to catch the flax fiber as it comes through the feed-rolls and tear it apart. This cylinder revolves at great speed and by means of the flat bars G G creates a centrifugal current of air, drawing it in through openings P in the ends of the cylinder and through the netting on it. This current carriesthe fibers of flax into a chamber N, in which are two condensing rolls or cylinders H H, also covered with wire-netting a, the

openings in which allow the current of airv that brings the flax into the chamber to escape. The bottom of the chamber in which the cylinder- D runs and also the bottom of the chamber N are of slats or bars, with open spaces between them, through which the shives and dust pass out, assisted by a part of the current of air created by the revolving cylinder. The flax collected in the chamber N is formed into a lap by passing between the condensing-cylinders H, which lap is received by a pair of feed-rolls J and fed to a cylinder D to pass to a receiving chamber N and condensing-cylinders H, which are all, from the feed-rolls J to the cylinders H, duplicates of the first set of feedrolls, chambers, and cylinders in their parts and their arrangement, excepting that the wire-netting on the cylinders has a smaller mesh, the spaces between the bars S are narrower, and the teeth on the radial bars are finer in the second set than in the first. The second set is succeeded by a third set of feedrolls' J cylinder D and chamber N that are like the first and second set, only having still finer netting and teeth on the radial bars. Conducting-rolls n 'n are placed at the right end of the machine and driven by agear'mon the lower condensing-cylinder to receive the flax from the condensing-cylinders and convey it to the lap-winding rolls which support and turn the roll 0, on which the lap is wound.

The several running parts of the machine are belted and geared together as follows: K is the driving-belt running the main cylinder D and from a pulley on the shaft of this cylinder a belt L drives a pulley on the shaft of the middle main cylinder, and a belt M from another pulley on that shaft drives the first main cylinder. These cylinders require a high rate of speed, and as the other parts require a low speed a short side shaft R, held in bearings on a side girth O, driven by a quarter-turn belt 0, has a worm c on it that engages in a worm-gear (1, held on a crossshaft h, held in hearings on the two lower side girths G. A belt I) from a pulley on the cross-shaft h drives the first pair of fluted rolls B, which drive the second pair by intermediate gear 9 and the endless apron by a belt e. A belt T from a pulley on the crossshaft h drives another cross-shaft n, and belts E E E from a pulley on the cross-shaft 'n drive, respectively, the first, second, and third pairs of condensing-cylinders. The first pair of feed-rolls J are driven by a gearj on the second pair of fluted rolls B, the second pair of feed-rolls J is driven by a gear 3' on the first set of condensingcylinders, and the third set of feed-rolls is driven by a gear 3' on the second set of condensing-cylinders.

In operating the machine the flax is placed on the endless apron E, that carries it to the fluted rolls B B, which break the bark up very fine. Then it is fed by the rolls J to be alternately beaten by the plain radial bars G and torn apart by the fine teeth on the radial bars G. As the main cylinders revolve ata very high speed, a current of air is drawn in through the openingsin the ends of the cylinder and the netting by the action of the radial bars, and this air finds its way out mainly through the netting on the condensing-cylinders and carries the light fiber of the flax into the receiving-chamber, while another portion of the air finds its way through the narrow openings between the slats at the bottom of the main chamber, taking the shives and dirt with it.

To regulate the amount of air that enters the main cylinders, a plates, having openings to correspond with the openings P, is held so that by turning the openings in the plate 3 will agree with the openings P, or so as to close them more or less.

This action of beating of the fiber and separating the shives from it is done in each main cylinder,and when the flax is compressed into a lap by the last pair of condensing-cylinders it is conveyed by the rolls n to be wound into a cap-roll on the rolls 7, and is ready for carding.

Having thus described our improvement, we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a flax-machine the combination of an endless apron, two or more pairs of intermeshing fluted rolls, a pair of feed-rolls, a main chamber, a cylinder held to revolve in said chamber and covered with wire-netting, and having openings in its ends, fiat radial cross-bars secured on the periphery of said cylinder, a receiving-chamber connected with said main chamber, a pair of condensing-cylinders covered with'wire-netting placed at one end of said receiving-cham her, substantially as described.

2. In a flax-machine, the combination of an endless apron, two or more pairs of fluted rolls each succeeding pair having finer fluting than the preceding pair, a pair of feed-rolls, a main chamber having a bottom with narrow open spaces, a cylinder held in said main chamber and covered with wire-netting and having openings in its ends, fiat radial bars held on the outside of said cylinder, strips of metal with teeth on some of said radial bars, a receiving-chamber having a bottom with open spaces a pair of condensing-cylinders covered with wire-netting placed at the end of said receiving-chamber, substantially as described.

3. In a flax-machine a series of main chambers having narrow openings in their under sides each chamber containing a cylinder covered with wire-netting and having flat radial bars on theiroutsides, and having openings in their ends, a like series of small chambers connected with said main chambers, each having a pair of condensing-cylinders with wire-net coverings, placed at one end of the chamber, substantially as described.

4. In a flax-machine, a pair of feed-rolls, a main chamber having a bottom with narrow open spaces a cylinder held in said main chamber and covered with wire-netting and having openings in its ends flat radial bars held on the outside of main cylinder, strips of metal with teeth on some of said radial bars, a receiving-chamber having a bottom with open spaces, a pair of condensing-cylinders covered with wire-netting placed at the end of said receiving-chamber, substantially as described.

5. In a flax-machine, a pair of feed-rolls, a main chamber having a bottom with narrow open spaces and having openings on its ends with plates to turn and cover said openings, a cylinder held in said main chamber and covered with wire-netting, and having openings in its ends, flat radial bars held on the outside of said cylinder, strips of metal with teeth on some of said radial bars, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 15th day of January, A. D.

DAVID S. EASTWOOD. NARGISSE H. NORMAND. Witnesses:

HOWARD E. BARLOW, BENJ. ARNOLD. 7 

